Watch an Entire Herd of Buffalo Turn on a Menacing Tiger That Attacked Their Friend

Tigers are known as kings of the safari. These striped felines are a force to be reckoned with, yet no other wild animal, even entire herds dare to face these creatures. Tigers are among the most feared predators in nature and are the largest member of the cat family. 

They can achieve speeds of about 40 miles per hour while pursuing prey at night, yet their stunning orange and black patterned coats serve as concealment. These cats are ambush predators who use power and discretion to kill their prey. 

Such apex predators have a history of eating primates, buffalo, sloth bears, leopards, gators, and even wild boars in addition to huge animals such as elk. While on a safari tour, a group of tourists got to witness one of these beautiful beasts attempt to take down a massive buffalo.

The biggest mammal in North America is the buffalo. Male buffalo, also known as bulls, can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds and grow as tall as six feet. In contrast, female buffalo, also known as cows, can reach up to 1,000 pounds and grow as tall as five feet. 

At birth, buffalo newborns weigh 30 to 70 pounds. In comparison, these creatures are much larger than tigers. That doesn’t stop these felines from having the agility and stealth to take down animals much bigger than them. 

Knowing When to Quit

In the video that you can watch below, a tiger can be seen pouncing on the back of one of the buffalo. The victim groans as the tiger brings it to the ground, about to become the cat’s next meal. 

Other buffalo start surrounding the chaos, yet the big cat doesn’t let that stop him. 

Eventually, an entire herd of buffalo starts to warn the tiger that it’s time to go. While the cat is much more likely to kill a buffalo, it is alone, suddenly going against several buffalo. Tigers are by far the most intelligent of the cat species. 

A comment on the video states, “Aggressive enough to take down the Buffalo within 15 seconds and sensible enough to retreat when needed. A real masterpiece of evolution.”

He realizes there are far more buffalo than he can take on and decides to willingly leave. The striped beast stands just mere feet from the safari jeep and continues to stare at the buffalo down the hill. Perhaps the apex predator is waiting for the sorry buffalo to be left alone before he makes another move. 

According to the description section of the video, the buffalo was already dead from the tiger’s force by the time the entire herd showed up. What do you think happened?

Take A Look At The Footage Below And Let Us Know! 

Is It Normal Behavior for a Tiger to Attack a Forest Buffalo?

Yes! Tigers will attack large and medium-sized mammals (weighing 100-500 pounds), particularly hooved animals (ungulates) such as the forest buffalo seen in this video.

Tigers are capable of taking down larger prey and have been known to attack water buffaloes, rhinos, elephants, and crocodiles. How do they overpower bigger prey? Their method is to bite the throat and wrestle it to the ground with their strong forelimbs. The tiger maintains its throat bite until the subject dies of strangulation.

However, tigers are opportunistic hunters that will attack any mammal, bird, reptile, or fish that could be a meal. Naturally, they will go after whatever is easiest to kill such as vulnerable babies and juvenile animals.

How Large are Adult Forest Buffalo?

The African forest buffalo is one of the smaller subspecies of buffalo. Also known as the dwarf buffalo, these mammals can weigh between 550 and 700 pounds and have heights of 39 to over 50 inches at the shoulder.